Customer Reviews

Henry VIII: Man and Monarch

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a must have for the Tudor aficionado. The photos are wonderful and it gives a very thorough backround on both sides of his family including siblings and children that is not usually done to the degree that this book has accomplished. It of course discusses all of his accomplishments, weaknesses and historical changes that he is responsible for. The book is a delightful and interesting read thanks to the writing of Starkey and it highly recommended.

I purchased this book as a trip to England to attend the actual British Library exhibition celebrating the 500th anniversary of Henry's accession to the throne was out of the question this year. I was not disappointed. The book contains copious illustrations of the items that made up the exhibition - which, as it was mounted by the British Library, focuses largely on literary items that were associated with Henry VIII and his circle. Well-written captions explain the significance of each item, and introductions to the different sections are written by experts on various aspects of Tudor history. All in all this is one purchase that was well worth the money.

I could not go to England during the exhibition, but I was very pleased with this book. I was amazed at all the important documents that still exist from the times of Henry VIII. It just makes me appreciate the other nonfiction Henry VIII books that I read. I also appreciate the fact that the book references where the pictured documents are normally housed. How about an Elizabeth I book like this?

This is a beautiful book for a great price. I would have given it five stars if it had contained a little more history and fewer pictures of old documents that you can't read.

This is a great collection for any Tudor Dynasty fan, or lover of all things Henry the VIII. It has a lot of the images that have been seen in other books, such as the paintings of him, but it offers more insight into his youth. It is really like an encyclopedia with maps, letters, statues, portraits, etc... Great for reference.

Henry VIII is the world's most famous king, edging out Louis XIV and King Arthur, who may not have lived at all. He is the king we love to hate, an excessive man in every way- so fat (300 pounds) so cruel, so vicious, so disloyal to everyone but himself. But so fascinating!

David Starkey's book is lush, wonderfully illustrated, printed on creamy rich paper and worthy of royalty in its feel and its looks, and you practically want to stroke the paper, the pages are that elegant. They even smell elegant.

Henry is the most powerful symbol of royalty England has ever seen (although Henry gets a great deal of competition from his daughter Elizabeth).The lynch pin of this magnificent Tudor exhibit is his love letter to Anne Boleyn, reproduced on the back cover.With that letter Henry had crossed the Rubicon and set in motion huge events, the Act of Supremacy, the repudiation of Katherine, the marriage to Anne Boleyn and eventually her execution.

Pouring over the hundreds of letters and documents and illustrations in the book will give you an intimate feeling for the 16th century, you're taken right there, to Tudor England. It's like Henry, Wolsey, Katherine, Anne, Thomas More and a host of other players on that stage sharing their thoughts with you. There's even a list of executions ordered by Henry, more notables being executed in his reign than under any other monarch before or since. Life was cheap to Henry, provided it was not his own.

Here are some of the illustrations I particularly liked:

Henry's beautifully decorated portable writing desk

The prayer books Henry and Anne used to communicate with each other in chapel, writing notes in the margins of the books

A wonderful drawing of a robust baby long thought to be Henry. But the child's cap puts him in the late 1530's, the cap being very similar to one worn by Edward VI. (The portrait is not Edward).

A portrait of Arthur, Henry's doomed older brother, one of only two known to exist

The wonderful wood effigy of Henry's mother, Elizabeth of York, which was on top of her coffin

A letter from the amazingly erudite impostor Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be Richard, the youngest of the two princes in the tower and son of Edward IV.

Center fold pull-outs, including one of a sour-looking Henry in a procession

If you are a Tudor buff, don't miss this splendid book of Henry VIII, "the loyal son of the church who became schismatic-in-chief".

I went and saw this exhibit on a recent trip to London and bought this book as a record. It is wonderful!! Susan Doran and David Starkey did such a wonderful job in putting this together. The images themselves were worth the price. A must have for any Henry VIII nut (like me!)

This is a coffee table book of paintings, documents, drawings, etc pertaining to the reign of Henry VIII. It is a beautiful book with only enough history to let the reader know when and where the item belongs within the reign. I gave it a "4" because I thought I would be getting more discourse on Henry and not so very many pictures. All in all it is an excellent resource especially for someone who likes to learn by documents or is interested in art history.